Brazilian-born designer Paula Cademartori is in the midst of opening her new central Milanese headquarters on Via Borgogna designed by the architect Margherita Strazzera, with interiors by her friends Emiliano Salci and Britt Moran of Dimore Studio, and launching her first shoe capsule collection—six models, including elegant embellished heels and a biker boot—when we speak. In fact, one of her favorite design pieces, the Droog 85 Lamps chandelier by Rody Graumans, is proving rather temperamental in its new home. “It needs a 1.5 watt bulb, and they’re impossible to find,” she laughs of the lamp, one among the many sought-after pieces of furniture and objects she has hunted down at markets and under-the-radar showrooms in the city that influence her burgeoning namesake bag line. The young Brazilian originally trained as an industrial designer in her native Porto Alegre, and she credits her adopted home, Milan, with developing her passion for mid-twentieth century design. Here, she reveals her most sought-after collectibles.

Her top searched-for items this month:Consoles and lamps from the thirties and forties: I have a limited-edition black marble Castiglioni brothers’ Arco lamp, which was one of my first real purchases from Luca Preti (one of Milan’s best stores for locating items from the fifties through to the seventies by the likes of Gio Ponti, Castiglioni, or FontanaArte). I also adore Golran’s rugs. They work with traditional Persian carpets and reinvent them with a contemporary slant. I love to browse the city’s Navigli antiques market too, and I can’t resist checking out Nilufar’s selection, too.

When she started collecting:Design brought me to Milan when I was just twenty-one. While studying at the Istituto Marangoni I became more interested in the virtues of modernism, and try whenever possible to include them in my handbag designs. (Her bag styles are recognizable for their hardware, which instead of bold logos feature a buckle inspired by the Greek letter phi.) I also met Emiliano (Salci of Dimore Studio) here [Milan] and he introduced me to his work, and I now collect his paintings and sculptures, some of which are now in my new studio.